In Memoriam, 2018

4 Jan Ray Thomas (vocalist, flautist for The Moody Blues) 76

Thomas Bopp

5 Jan Thomas Bopp (amateur astronomer; co-discovered comet Hale-Bopp) 68

5 Jan John Young (Apollo 16) 87

13 Jan Jeremy Inkel, Canadian musician (Front Line Assembly, Left Spine Down), 34.

Stanley Hovdebo

14 Jan Stan Hovdebo (Canadian MP), age 92. Hovdebo served as the MP for Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and then of Saskatoon between 1979 and 1993. He succeeded John Diefenbaker in the Prince Albert riding representing the NDP.

19 Jan Dorothy Malone (Actress: Peyton Place, Basic Instinct), 93

19 Jan Alison Shearmur (film producer: Hunger Games, Rogue One, Cinderella), 54

20 Jan John Coleman (co-founder of The Weather Channel) 83

25 Jan Tommy Banks (Canadian Jazz musician, Senator) 81

Mort Walker.

27 Jan Mort Walker (Cartoonist: Beetle Bailey, Hi and Lois) Made a lifetime career in cartoons  94

4 Feb John Mahoney (Frasier) 77

Arthur Black

21 Feb Arthur Black (CBC Radio’s Basic Black) One of the wittiest radio hosts I have heard from. He was a joy to listen to, and made me look forward to Saturday when he would come on CBC. Age 74.

Billy Graham

21 Feb Billy Graham (Teleevangelist) While I did not sense that Billy Graham was speaking to any particular branch of Christianity, his crusades were hard to turn away from when they came on TV, regardless of your religion. When he spoke, you listened, all the way to the end. He was pastor to American presidents and politicians. Age 99

David Ogden Stiers

3 Mar David Ogden Stiers (M*A*S*H). Stiers was the arrogant, abrasive, surgeon which grew on us some time into the MASH series. Age 75

4 Mar Roger Bannister (first to break the 4-minute mile) 88

7 Mar Gary Burden (Album cover designer: After the Gold Rush, Deja Vu) 84

10 Mar Hubert de Givenchy (Givenchy clothing line) 91

Nokie Edwards

12 Mar Nokie Edwards (Lead Guitarist for The Ventures, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2008) 82

14 Mar Adrian Lamo (Computer Hacker, LGBTQ activist, Wikileaks, exposed Chelsea Manning) 37

Stephen Hawking

14 Mar Stephen Hawking (Physicist, writer, lecturer). I don’t know if I need bragging rights to say that, yes, I had actually read all of A Brief History of Time. It was an easy read, a testimony to Hawking’s clarity of thought, but if you never tried to read it, you wouldn’t know, and many who never tried, usually assume that it is a difficult read. I urge anyone who is curious about the universe and had simply assumed that it would be difficult, to go to your library and crack open a copy and read for yourself. Aged 76.

Peter and wife Melanie

28 Mar Peter Munk (Cdn philanthropist, Barrick Gold) Remembered mostly for the Munk Debates on CBC Radio, which regularly happen at the University of Toronto. Aged 90.

Steven Bochco

2 Apr Steven Bochco (producer, Hill Street Blues, and NYPD Blue). Bochco had revolutionized the Police Drama serial with these two series. They got into the lives of the police officers, and showed them as conflicted, imperfect, but still doing their jobs. There was a definite change in the kinds of cop shows both before and after Hill Street Blues, produced by anyone.  Aged 74.

4 Apr Ron White (Cdn actor, Republic of Doyle) Played organized crook Vick Saul in several installments of Republic of Doyle. Aged 64.

5 Apr Tim O’Connor (Peyton Place, General Hospital) 90

7 Apr Don Pitts (Talent agent – Orson Welles, Casey Kasem, Mel Blanc) 90

Harry Anderson

16 Apr Harry Anderson (Dave’s World, Night Court). Played the starring role in Night Court as judge Harry Stone. Aged 65.

Barbara Bush

17 Apr Barbara Bush (American First Lady and Second Lady) 92

1 May Robert B. Kennedy (Mass. House of Representatives) 78

10 May Terje Larsen “The Wanderer” (convicted serial burglar) 60

12 May Kevin Tierney (Film producer: Bon Cop/Bad Cop, The Trotsky) 67

13 May Margot Kidder (activist, actor – Superman, Black Christmas, Amityville Horror) 69

15 May Tom Wolfe (Journalist, novelist) 88

16 May Joseph Campanella (actor – Days of Our Lives, Mannix) 92

1973 American Stamp, 8 cents.

19 May Robert Indiana I had always wondered who was responsible for the “LOVE” logo, famous since the 1970s. He also designed sculptures containing lesser-known four-letter words, such as HEAL and HOPE. His Love sculpture is sufficiently famous to have earned itself a commemmorative American stamp in 1973. Aged 89.

Philip Roth

22 May Philip Roth (Author: Portnoy’s Complaint, American Pastoral, The Human Stain). Portnoy’s Complaint was a huge success, and was much analyzed in its day. His novels challenged our views on sexuality, and what it means to be American. Aged 85.

28 May Dick Tuck (American political prankster) 94

Paul Boyer

2 Jun Paul Boyer (American biochemist, 1997 Nobel Prize) Elucidated the mechanisms for ATP (adenosine triphosphate) syntheis. He also won the Nobel Prize in 1997. Age 99.

Nick Meglin

2 Jun Nick Meglin (Mad magazine writer/editor). It was said that he provided a lot of the voice and satirical humor that was Mad magazine. Aged 82.

3 Jun Kent McRay (Producer: Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie) 89

5 Jun Kate Spade (New York Fashion Designer) 55

Danny Kirwan

8 Jun Danny Kirwan (Fleetwood Mac guitarist). Guitarist for Fleetwood Mac from 1968-71, and contributor to four of their albums. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Aged 68

8 Jun Anthony Bourdain (Writer, chef, TV Host) 61

15 Jun Nick Knox (Drummer, The Cramps) 60

24 Jun Stanley Anderson (Actor, The Drew Carey Show, Spiderman) 78

26 Jun Daniel Pilon (Actor, Dallas, Ryan’s Hope) 77

Joe Jackson

27 Jun Joe Jackson (Father of the Jackson Family, Manager of The Jacksons) 89

1 Jul Bruce Baker (Geneticist) 72

2 Jul Alan Longmuir (Bassist, Bay City Rollers) 70

5 Jul Jim Malloy (1964 Grammy award winning Recording engineer for Henry Mancini, Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley) 87

7 Jul Alan Johnson (3-time Emmy award winning choreographer: The Producers, Young Frankenstein) 81

13 Jul Ray Frenette (Premier of New Brunswick, 1997-1998) 83

20 Jul Marcario Gomez Quibus (Movie poster artist for Some Like it Hot, The Ten Commandments, Psycho) 92

21 Jul Elmarie Wendel (Actress: 3rd Rock From The Sun, The Lorax) 89

24 Jul Archie Marr (Keyboardist, Bay City Rollers) 66

25 Jul Patrick Williams (Composer, Columbo, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart) 79

Gervase Markham

27 Jul Gervase Markham (British programmer, Mozilla). In his short life, graduated from Oxford, then became “Governator” of the Mozilla project by age 23. He advocated against software patents. Aged 40.

5 Aug Charlotte Rae (Actress, Different Strokes, The Facts of Life, 101 Dalmatians: The Series) 92

7 Aug Stan Mikita (Hockey player, Chicago Black Hawks, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame) 78

Mary Pratt

14 Aug Mary Pratt (Newfoundland Painter). Still life artist with a keen sense of light and form; survived by husband and artist Christopher Pratt. A googling for her image mostly brought up painting after painting. Aged 83.

Aretha Franklin

16 Aug Aretha Franklin (Vocalist, called The Queen of Soul, 18x Grammy Award winner) Aged 76.

19 Aug Kofi Anan (Secretary-General of the UN) 80

22 Aug Ed King (Guitarist, Lynyrd Skynyrd) 64

John McCain

25 Aug John McCain (American Navy Officer, Senator, Congressman, Presidential Candidate) Aged 81.

Neil Simon

26 Aug Neil Simon (Playwright, The Odd Couple, Screenwriter, The Goodbye Girl). Aged 91.

4 Sep Bill Daily (Supporting actor, I Dream of JeannieBob Newhart) 91

5 Sep Gilles Pelletier (played Father Leclerc in the film Jesus of Montreal) 93

6 Sep Richard DeVos (Co-founder of Amway) 92

6 Sep Thad Mumford (Producer and writer, Electric Company, MASH, The Cosby Show) 67

6 Sep Burt Reynolds (Smokie and the Bandit, Deliverance) 82

12 Sep Diane Leather (first woman to break the 5-minute mile) 85

23 Sep Gary Kurtz (Collaborated with George Lucas in Star Wars) 78

Marty Balin

29 Sep Marty Balin (a founding member of Jefferson Airplane). Age 76.

Peggy Sue Gerron

1 Oct Peggy Sue Gerron (Namesake of Buddy Holly hit Peggy Sue). Aged 78.

12 Oct Pik Botha (former South African president) 86

14 Oct Donald MacDonald (Canadian politician) 86

15 Oct Paul Allen (co-founder of Microsoft) 65

16 Oct Dennis Hof (Brothel owner, Restaurant owner, won Nevada’s election for 36th district after death on 7 Nov 2018) 72

23 Oct Louis O’Neill (Quebec politician and academic) 93

Hugh McDowell

6 Nov Hugh Mcdowell (cellist, Electric Light Orchestra). Aged 65

6 Nov Bernard Landry (former Quebec Premier, 2001-2003) 81

Stan Lee

12 Nov Stan Lee (Marvel Comics: Creator of: The Hulk, Thor, Spider Man) Aged 95

24 Nov Ray Hill (LGBT activist) 78

25 Nov Gloria Katz (screenwriter, Indiana Jones, American Graffiti) 76

26 Nov Bernardo Bertolucci (director, Last Tango in Paris, The Last Emperor) 77

George H. W. Bush

30 Nov George Herbert Walker Bush (former U. S. President, former CIA director). Aged 91.

7 Dec Victor “The Mascara Snake” Hayden (Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band) 70

7 Dec Paul Henderson (Pulitzer Prize (1982)) 79

9 Dec Lyudmila Alexeyeva (“grandmother” of the Russian human rights movement) 91

13 Dec Nancy Wilson (Jazz singer, Grammies in 1965, 2005, and 2007) 81

18 Dec Penny Marshall (“Laverne” of Laverne and Shirley, directed Big) 75

A Tale of Two Joes (Joe Sixpack and Joe The Plumber)

It was the best of Joes, it was the worst of Joes; it was the age of connectedness, it was the age of alienation; it was the moment of truth, it was the moment of lies; we were shown the light, we were all kept in the dark; it was the dawn of Change, it was the twilight of monotony; we had everything to gain, we had everything to lose; we were taking the highway to Heaven to listen to Elvis, we were taking the highway to hell to listen to AC-DC.

— Chuck Dickens (I had to get that out of my system)!

Disclaimer: This was meant as a joke and does not confer a preference for the greater works of Elvis Presley on my part. And to put the Elvis fans to rest, I am also not a fan of either the greater or lesser works of AC-DC.

I have heard on the net about people commenting that Joe Sixpack and Joe Plumber have no place in political discourse. Joe Sixpack would likely desire intelligent discourse with a sober Palin maybe after chugging a sixpack or two. Then, sufficiently inebriated, would then proceed to have what would seem to the inebriated mind an intelligent discourse with Palin. This is also how a Joe turns a dog into a fox.

Joe Plumber, unlike Joe Sixpack, is not fictitious. He is properly nicknamed “Joe The Plumber”, and was first reported talking policy with Obama. Joe The Plumber’s actual name consists of neither “Joe” nor “Plumber”. His real name is Samuel Wurzelbacher. So, I guess he is kind of fictitious as well.

Joe Sixpack looked like a hard-working guy and the press has been all over him. It is as if they, after looking strenuously across America for an everyday person to talk to (it being so difficult to locate everyday people in the lower income brackets, consisting of over 60% of the country’s population), they found Joe The Plumber, who is presented to us as just a common hard-working guy grossing about a quarter million per year, as he told Obama. In whose universe is someone with such an income an “ordinary American?” Joe The Plumber does not exist in the sense that the media is fabricating the narrative, anymore than Joe Sixpack would exist anywhere, at any time.

We all await a successor to George Bush The Lesser.

The “real” Joe Sixpack weighs in, with the truth behind the hoopla, as shown in this mockumentary:

And, yet another Joe, some running mate of Obama’s who goes by the name of Joe Biden in this video, is said to “rip apart” McCain and Palin. All sensationalism aside, Joe Biden is simply telling it like it is.